CVE-2026-33623 PinchTab: OS Command Injection via Profile Name in Windows Cleanup Routine Enables Arbitrary Command Execution
Authenticated attackers can execute arbitrary PowerShell commands on Windows hosts via crafted profile names in PinchTab's cleanup routine.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-33623?
CVE-2026-33623 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in pinchtab, published on 26 Mar 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Official description
PinchTab is a standalone HTTP server that gives AI agents direct control over a Chrome browser. PinchTab `v0.8.4` contains a Windows-only command injection issue in the orphaned Chrome cleanup path. When an instance is stopped, the Windows cleanup routine builds a PowerShell `-Command` string using a `needle` derived from the profile path. In `v0.8.4`, that string interpolation escapes backslashes but does not safely neutralize other PowerShell metacharacters. If an attacker can launch an instance using a crafted profile name and then trigger the cleanup path, they may be able to execute arbitrary PowerShell commands on the Windows host in the security context of the PinchTab process user. This is not an unauthenticated internet RCE. It requires authenticated, administrative-equivalent API access to instance lifecycle endpoints, and the resulting command execution inherits the permissions of the PinchTab OS user rather than bypassing host privilege boundaries. Version 0.8.5 contains a patch for the issue.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-33623?
5 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/pinchtab/pinchtab and github.com/pinchtab/pinchtab/cmd/pinchtab. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
github.com/pinchtab/pinchtab Go | All versions | 0.8.5 |
github.com/pinchtab/pinchtab Go | All versions | 0.8.5 |
github.com/pinchtab/pinchtab Go | All versions | 0.8.5 |
github.com/pinchtab/pinchtab/cmd/pinchtab Go | All versions | 0.8.5 |
github.com/pinchtab/pinchtab/cmd/pinchtab Go | All versions | 0.8.5 |
Products include Pinchtab Pinchtab.
How do I fix CVE-2026-33623?
Upgrade github.com/pinchtab/pinchtab to 0.8.5 or later.
Upgrade, and pass arguments to programs as a list instead of through a shell. More about Command injection.
Is CVE-2026-33623 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-33623 exists.
Other vulnerabilities in pinchtab
- CVE-2026-30834 PinchTab: SSRF with Full Response Exfiltration via Download Handler
- CVE-2026-33622 A PinchTab Security Policy Bypass in /wait Allows Arbitrary JavaScript Execution
- CVE-2026-33081 PinchTab has Blind SSRF via browser-side redirect bypass in /download URL validation
- CVE-2026-33621 PinchTab: Unapplied Rate Limiting Middleware Allows Unbounded Brute-Force of API Token
- CVE-2026-33620 PinchTab: API Bearer Token Exposed in URL Query Parameter via Server Logs and Intermediary Systems
Sources
Also known as GHSA-p8mm-644p-phmh, GO-2026-4823.